Bypassing higher ed
2010-09-11 00:05:04.119226+02 by
Dan Lyke
4 comments
Washington Post: Some say bypassing a higher education is smarter than paying for a degree.
"There's a billion other things you could do with your money,"
Altucher says. One option: Invest the money you'd spend on tuition in
Treasury bills for your child's retirement. According to Altucher,
$200,000 earning 5 percent a year over 50 years would amount to $2.8
million.
(Via Crasch.) It's mainstream media, so of course they don't have any statistics, just anecdotes, but...
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2010-09-11 01:24:15.435226+02 by:
spc476
And $2.8m will be worth what in 50 years? 50 years ago, $200,000 in 1960 dollars may be worth between $1.1m and $5.4m in 2009 dollars (depending on how you calculate inflation).
On the other hand, $200,000 worth of gold in 1960 would be worth a bit over $7m today (silver on the other hand, would be worth $4.4m today).
#Comment Re: made: 2010-09-12 05:38:06.263226+02 by:
ebwolf
Overall, it's a darned good article. It also starts to address the situation where
your parents maybe saved $10K-$20K. Best investment: travel, start a business...
not college.
I just wrote a long email to my daughter describing why having $20K in the bank
when you start college is a bad idea. All it really does is reduce your ability to
get scholarships and financial aid. Smarter move: blow the wad of cash on travel,
wait until you are emancipated from your parents, go to a reasonably priced school
for a professional degree. Assuming, of course, the business doesn't work out.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-09-12 13:07:14.571226+02 by:
Dan Lyke
Sean, I think you mean it the other way around: if modern-day $1.1m-$5.4m is worth $200k in 1960 dollars, if historical trends hold that $2.8 million in today's dollars could be worth $400k or $80k in 50 years. So, yeah, the key is 5% after inflation.
But if, as we've posited before, college works as a relatively noisy high-pass filter, then the question is: what's a reasonable career path? How long are cushy government jobs with big pensions going to be the rage, or are you better off taking a more entrepreneurial approach?
A lot of this depends on personality, but I think we're finding more and more that if you have the drive and intelligence, then college is a detriment.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-09-13 00:44:50.475226+02 by:
Dan Lyke
On the money, Philip Greenspun has some observations.